Skilene Holidays
by matthewmspace
Summary: A story documenting a year's worth of Skilene. It shall be updated on various holidays, since the show takes place in New York. Next update: St. Patrick's Day.
1. Chapter 1 - New Year's 2014

So welcome this new story. Little note here, this'll be updated on specific days of the year. So if it's not updated for months, it hasn't been abandoned. I'll actually post, at the end of each chapter, the next date it'll be updated. Oh, symbol rules on my bio apply, like in my other stories. Let's read the first installment, shall we? But first, Happy New Year!

**CHAPTER 1 – New Years, 2014**

(3rd-person P) 2013 was coming to a close. It had been a good year for the residents of the Central Park Zoo in Yew York City. No one had gotten transferred out. But on this date, one animal felt sad about one particular thing.

(P to Marlene) "This is Chuck Charles, here in Times Square," Chuck Charles was saying on the TV. The Penguins, Lemurs, and I were all in the Penguin's secret HQ, watching the news for when the ball would drop in Times Square to ring in 2014.

Suddenly, Julien blew a noisemaker, making us all cover our ears at the sound. "Julien, it's only 11:20! It's not time for that yet!" I explained to him. "It is already the New Year in my homeland. I must celebrate for my loyal subjects there," Julien said, before blowing the noisemaker again.

"Julien, Madagascar is 11 hours ahead of New York, in time. Why didn't you do that earlier today?" Kowalski asked him. "My homeland is in the future?" Julien asked surprised. All of us, except Mort, face-flippered and face-pawed ourselves. Kowalski then explained how time zones work to Julien. He seemed to get it, miraculously.

It was hard to believe 2013 was already over. It felt like it was just the start sometimes. And yet another year had gone by and I still hadn't found someone to love. All those years ago, I wasn't thinking about that. But in the past few months or so, I started to.

I was starting to feel like the lonely Otter in the big city. After all, no new Otters had ever come to my habitat, male or female. I liked being the center of attention, but I wanted to share it sometimes, with a nonexistent husband. I was about to sigh sadly with those thoughts, but held that back. I was always upbeat to everyone, after all.

I did manage to slip out though. Everyone had been paying attention to the TV. I was up on the platform and didn't see anyone else out right then either. I looked at my reflection in the water. I didn't know why I was being bothered by this so much tonight.

I felt for someone in the zoo, but didn't know what they thought of me. They were a Penguin. I was an Otter. And they always tried to keep their emotions in check so I could never figure out what they thought of me.

I knew he thought of me as a friend. After all, he had helped me get my feral side under control in 2012. I had even gotten his back a few times. During Snowmageddon, I had helped him on a snack mission, which made us miss the football game. * And when that destroyer of worlds had nearly destroyed the Earth, I had done the best I could do to help get that under control as well. ** I had even done that without any proper training from my friend. I wished I could help them more. And he called me cute and naïve. I still didn't know what he meant by that, sadly.

(P to Skipper) Even though we were all watching TV, waiting for the New Year to start, I happened to notice Marlene had slipped up and out of the HQ. She probably had forgotten something at her habitat and was getting it. Marlene was a good friend.

She clearly had proven years earlier that she was not a spy, by helping us stop X and Kuchikukan from carrying out their plans. And she did that without any formal training from us. In fact, Marlene seemed to be on my mind lately.

Even though I was a bird and she a mammal, I felt something towards her. But I had to fight mentally with myself to keep that under control. After all, I didn't know if she felt the same way. And she had expressed disdain with us when we had tried to set her up with Fred. *** That was a disaster of epic proportions.

A few minutes passed and Marlene hadn't come back yet. I wondered what she was doing, so I decided to go check on her. I told the men I was going to get more fish. They offered to help, but I said they should enjoy their night. Little did they know that tomorrow they would be doing double training, as I had planned earlier in the day.

I went out through the entrance to the sewers in our habitat. Thinking back while going through the sewers, Marlene had actually saved my life. When she had heard what we later learned was Roger reacting to her snoring, we investigated the sound.

When Rico blew the manhole up to the roof in her habitat, it had fallen and hit us down. I didn't remember what happened after that, but I remembered seeing Marlene after I regained consciousness. ****

When I popped up through the sewer, Marlene didn't do her usual surprise reaction of myself doing that. In fact, she wasn't there at all. I quickly checked for anything from lobsters of Blowhole, but miraculously he had not shown up. I walked out and saw her up above back at the HQ.

She looked sad. She was looking at herself in the water and thinking something to herself. I always protected the zoo members from the problems they experienced. But this seemed like an emotional problem. And I was terrible with them sometimes. But, still, I had to ask her what was wrong.

(P to Marlene) I kept sighing to myself sadly. All I could see in the water was my lonely self. No one to be with. I lifted my right foot and saw the usual white paw. As Kowalski had said, it was distinctive. *****

After all, I might be the only Otter with a white foot. I wondered what Skipper thought of it. The more I thought of him, the more I wished that I was a Penguin or that he was an Otter. If either of those situations were the case, we would probably have been married long ago. But we were not each other's species. We were our own.

Suddenly, something landed in the water. I didn't know what it was, so I backed away from the water. Knowing how many times the guys had to stop Blowhole this year, as they had said, this might be yet another trap. But then Skipper came out of the water.

"Hello Skipper. Where did you come from?" I asked him. "Actually, I noticed you slipped out of the HQ. You've been gone awhile, so I took it upon myself to see where you had gone," he said to me. "He's always caring for me," I thought to myself. "I just came out here for some air," I said, trying to protect my true intentions.

(P to Skipper) When Marlene said that, my gut, unfortunately for me, growled. Marlene bit her lip as well. We both knew that wasn't the truth. I opened my beak to try and say it was just gas, but nothing came out so I closed it again.

(P to Marlene) "Why, oh why did his gut have to pick that up?" I thought to myself. I sighed. I didn't know what to do now. I was sunk. Surprisingly, Skipper didn't say anything either. He looked like he was going to, but didn't. It really felt awkward for us to be alone like this. We had been alone before, but it never felt like this.

"So 2013 was fun, right?" I tried to ask Skipper happily, trying to free us of this awkwardness. "Other than having to stop Blowhole a few times, I would say so," Skipper said to me. We both tried to smile, but failed. "Are you alright Marlene?" Skipper asked me cautiously, yet caringly.

I bit my lip again. He had caught on. "I… it's just… hard to explain, you know?" I asked him carefully. "I understand Marlene. If you don't want to talk about it, then you don't have to," Skipper said to me. "But isn't it your duty to make sure all of us zoo members are happy?" I asked him.

(P to Skipper) When Marlene said that, I was sunk. She had broken through my emotional line of defense, somehow. She always found a way to do that. "Well, yes, Marlene you are right. That is our job. But Private is much better with emotions than I am," I said, trying to suggest someone better to talk to.

The boy did have a much better time with emotions. That was why I suggested that. "He might Skipper. But you're not going to take a challenge?" Marlene asked me. I was sunk again. She knew I couldn't resist a challenge.

(P back to Marlene) "Why am I pushing Skipper into this? He really doesn't have to do this," I thought to myself. "I guess I'll take that challenge Marlene," Skipper said. His voice quivered a bit. Was he nervous? I sighed. I felt compelled now to explain it to him.

I walked back over to the water. "What do you see Skipper?" I asked him, pointing at my reflection. "You?" Skipper asked me. "Was I really about to do this?" I thought worriedly to myself. "I know. And that's the trouble lately," I said honestly.

"You're not happy with yourself?" Skipper asked me extremely concerned. "No. I like being me. It's just… Have you ever felt alone?" I asked Skipper. "Once. After Hans betrayed me. Is that the same thing you're experiencing? Did someone betray you?" he asked me, concerned again.

I sighed. "No Skipper. I just feel alone lately, even with all of you as my friends. You're all very good friends. I just pine for someone who's more. I appreciate the effort you took with Fred, but I don't want to try that machine again," I said.

(P to Skipper) "I understand Marlene. That was completely our fault for pushing you into that. We didn't know how that would turn out and rushed you into it," I said honestly. She looked surprised at that. She must have not expected me to reveal that. Even I was surprised I was telling her that. But it was the truth.

(P to Marlene) "Like I said at the beginning of that debacle, I at first did it for Kowalski. But before I realized Fred was not who I thought he was, I liked where I was. You all saw that," I said to Skipper. "We did. It was good because Kowalski got his data, but that you were happy for a little while," Skipper said to me, surprisingly. "I wasn't just a test subject for you?" I asked curiously.

"Not entirely Marlene," Skipper said to me. That was really surprising. Did he care for me more than I thought he did? I sighed again, trying to shake off that thought. I looked at myself in the water again. Why was I revealing all of this?

(P to Skipper) It depressed me to see Marlene in this state. She was usually the happiest one in the zoo. She even told me to loosen up during Fun Day a few years ago. ****** I had done that corkscrew to show her I could have fun if I wanted to. But I also was showing off a bit, for her.

"Have you ever been in love?" Marlene surprisingly asked me. Did I want to reveal that information to her? For some reason, I did. "Marlene, I'll give you some information from my past. I actually was," I revealed to her.

(P to Marlene) "Did Skipper really just say that?" I asked myself. "What happened?" I asked him. Why was I pressing him to reveal this obviously classified information? It was so strange, the way we were interacting tonight.

Skipper then explained what had happened. He married a wooden doll? That was something I thought only Rico might do. But this was the Penguin I knew. He was so different than I thought he was sometimes. He even said that he was not right in the head when he did that. That was what the hippies did to you, he said. *******

"I've never heard you reveal that before Skipper. It's…" I was going to say before I stopped. "That's one part of my life I'm not proud of Marlene," he said. I was in shock of him. He really trusted me. "Can you keep a secret?" I asked him. "You know that I can Marlene," he answered,

I smiled, knowing that was true, "I want that feeling too. Not of having made a mistake, but love. And I want it to last forever. And I love…" I was about to continue, but stopped myself. But it was true. I loved Skipper. But that might hurt us being friends, even though I wanted more.

(P to Skipper) Marlene had stopped herself before saying whom she loved. I didn't want to press because that was very personal. But I was curious. I loved her, even though she was a mammal. But of all the mammals I knew, she was the smartest. After letting that comment fly about mammals being morons, I gave myself maintenance duty for a week. ********

(P to Marlene) I was both thankful and curious as to why Skipper didn't press further at what I might have said. We were both revealing deeply personal information to each other. But he really had stopped thinking I was a spy, by revealing all that. It was all so strange! What was controlling us? *********

(P to 3rd-person) The two felt so strange on this night. They didn't know why they were doing all this. Their secret fondness of each other was slowly coming out. At this point, the two were still trying to figure out how to end this without it getting stranger. But little did they know how far it would go before the night would end.

(P to Marlene) "What are we doing Skipper?" I asked him cautiously. "I don't know Marlene. We're declassifying our secrets," Skipper said, also cautiously. We sighed. "Did Kowalski invent anything this morning that might have been in the air of your HQ?" I asked him. "In terms of inventions, Kowalski thankfully hasn't made any in awhile, so the risk of one of his inventions affecting us thankfully doesn't apply," Skipper said.

We sighed with relief at it not being Kowalski's fault. "Could it be Blowhole? You have said you had to stop him several times this year," I suggested. "That's a good suggestion. We did check this morning on all our enemies, but Blowhole looked like he wasn't doing anything," Skipper said. We sighed with still not knowing why.

We both looked at the clock. It was 11:40. Just about 20 minutes to go until the New Year. With all this going on right now, it certainly was going to be an awkward start. I looked at Skipper and he seemed like he was thinking the same thing. But I didn't want to ask.

(P to Skipper) It was 23:40. The New Year would be upon us soon. With this talk between Marlene and I happening right now, it would certainly be awkward for a few days or weeks. But she appeared to be thinking the same thing I was.

(P to 3rd person) Both Skipper and Marlene jumped into opposite sides of the pool and swam around trying to clear their heads. But strangely, they altered their pace and caught up to one another. In the pool, the two looked at each other, terribly confused at why they both had done this. Something was bringing them together and they didn't know why.

They tried swimming away from one another after getting some air, but met up again. Marlene swam to the other side of the pool, while Skipper decided to stay put. But when they both jumped out of the pool, they crashed into each other. In the process, their beak and lips touched.

After a few seconds, they realized what was happening and quickly split apart and headed for opposite sides of the zoo, in fear of the other's reaction. They absolutely had no idea what was going on.

(P to Marlene) "I kissed Skipper! Why did I kiss him? I've wanted that for so long, but I didn't want it to happen this way. What does he think of that? I wish I knew! But what will happen now?" I thought to myself, sitting on the south wall.

(P to Skipper) "Why did I kiss Marlene? What in the name of fish made me do that? I definitely enjoyed that, but what does Marlene think? We obviously are afraid of each other's reactions, since we fled. But what could she possibly be thinking?" I thought to myself, sitting on the north wall.

(3rd-person P) Both Marlene and Skipper knew their friendship had just altered forever. They had revealed their feelings, some of their past, and kissed. They were both hoping they could somehow forget that happened, but knew that could never happen. They were terrified what might change as a result.

They were friends, but both wanted to be more. They knew this was their chance, but didn't know the other person's views on what had just happened. But, as fate would have it, they went back to the platform on top of the Penguin habitat. They were still terrified when they walked back, as the clock hit 11:45.

The two reached the platform at exactly the same time. For a moment, neither knew what to say. But Marlene spoke up first, cautiously. "Skipper. Did we just…" she struggled to say. "I… I think so," Skipper replied. "What did you think?" the two asked each other. As soon as they said that, they regretted it. They were officially stuck.

They both thought for a moment. "Should we say what we thought at the same time?" they asked each other, again, at the same time. They both nodded to each other. They delicately said to each other that it was interesting. But Skipper's gut growled at them, saying they were hiding their true intentions.

They both sighed, stuck again. But then they looked at each other. It was a make it or break it moment for them. They gulped nervously as the clock reached 11:55. "I've wanted to do that for a long time," the two said delicately. They were shocked that they both felt this way, which compelled them to continue.

"I don't know how to explain it to you, but I've felt more for you than you might realize for a long time. I hope you've felt the same way," they said, looking at each other. Both were in awe that they were revealing all this. "I've loved you for years. Even though we're different species, I love you," they said to each other.

They gasped at what they said. Both of them felt the same way. They both loved each other. They smiled lovingly at each other. They leaned in closer and closer until they kissed full-on. At that exact moment, the bell rang 12 times and fireworks started going off in the distance. It was officially the New Year. They had a midnight kiss on New Year's. It was the perfect moment for them.

The two reluctantly split apart, due to having to breathe. They loved this moment they now shared. Their lives would forever be changed. Now instead of friends hiding a secret from one another, they were in a relationship. After admiring the fireworks in the distance and still in their moment, they were interrupted by everyone.

Since they had been gone for a while, everyone wondered where they had gone. They explained what had happened and everyone was happy for them. They said goodnight to each other and left down to the HQ and the habitats, leaving the new couple up above.

They looked at each other before gloriously kissing again. They said goodnight, departing to their homes. They were so excited at what this new relationship would bring to them.

And that's a wrap on this first chapter. Wow! Longest piece I've ever written. I'm really proud of it. I hope you enjoyed it, even though it was really long. So the next update won't be for a while, but for good reason. Valentine's Day is the next update. That's right, the day of love. February 14th. But in the meantime, please review this first chapter. And please read the exhaustive notes.

* Referencing Skipper and Marlene's adventure during "Snowmageddon".

** Referencing Kuchikukan in "Operation: Lunacorn Apocalypse".

*** Referencing "Otter Things Have Happened."

**** Referencing "Haunted Habitat". The first episode with Marlene.

***** Referencing "Badger Pride" when Marlene was terrified of the badgers and they said to her than even Marlene's own mother wouldn't recognize what was left and Kowalski said Marlene's mother would recognize her foot.

****** Referencing Skipper's Corkscrew in "Crown Fools".

******* In the Madagascar movies, Skipper referred to Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria as hippies.

******** Referencing "Miss Understanding" where Skipper said all mammals were morons. And since he does feel for Marlene, he obviously would give himself a punishment for saying that.

********* Uh, I'm controlling you. But you'll never know. But it's really fun to make you two act out of character.


	2. Chapter 2 - Valentine's Day

Hi! Been a long time. So it's Valentine's Day, eh? Well, a promise is a promise. Here you go! Enjoy it!

**CHAPTER 2 – Valentine's Day**

(3rd person P) It had been a month and a half since Skipper and Marlene had started to date each other. They loved that they were finally a couple. Everyone else was so happy for them, too.

(P to Marlene) "You really love him, don't you?" Becky asked me. "I really do. He may have his quirks, but I love him," I said happily. "What are his quirks?" Stacey asked me. "Here's one that's a bit obvious: He's a Penguin," I said. We all laughed. "That's true cousin. Anything else?" Becky asked me.

We were gossiping about my boyfriend. It was lots of fun. "You've seen his paranoia. He's been relaxing that, actually. He's still paranoid something will happen to us, but his intentions are genuine," I said. "That's great Marlene! What does he have planned for today?" Stacey asked me.

I sighed with love. "I don't know. I wish I knew. He's said it'll be very romantic," I said happily. Suddenly we heard the bell ringing. "Well, be sure to tell us how it goes later today Marlene," Becky said to me. "I will girls,' I said to them. They left to get to their habitat.

I was so glad that those two were my friends. Out of all the girls in the zoo, I connected with them most. As long as I never said _badger_ in front of them, unless explicitly saying to someone that they were badgers, they would not go nuts at me. * I shivered with that memory.

I walked out of my cave into the sunlight outside. It felt so good on my fur. The guests were starting to stream in. I looked over at Skipper and the guys and they looked like they were getting ready as well. Skipper saw me and waved at me. I waved back. The humans merely thought we were waving at them. They were so oblivious at what we all did.

The guests went over to their habitat first. I saw Julien get ready for the fish smell by using Mort to plug his nose. That always made me laugh. As soon as Alice announced she had fish for sale, she immediately ran out. "Animals," she said, confused at why the people always wanted to feed the guys. **

I always liked watching the guys perform their act. I wished that I were a Penguin so that I could join in, though. Or that Skipper was an Otter. But it was fun to watch. After playing hard to get, the guys started doing their usual routine. Belly slides, pretending to fall into the pool, body shakes; the works.

Then what I saw next really impressed me. After the guys threw Skipper into the air, he corkscrewed into the water. I hadn't seen him do that in years. *** I knew immediately that he was showing off for me. But I didn't care. He really did love me. And now, I decided to change my performance in response to him doing that.

As soon as he landed, the crowd cheered and tossed the fish at the guys. I eagerly waited for the smell of the fish to reach my nose. Julien may hate it, but I loved that smell. It always made me think of Skipper, with the smell of the sea.

After a little while, the guests finally came over to me. I was ready for them. I was acting coy for a moment before springing into action. I had my beach ball next to me and grabbed it. Everyone looked at me curiously. I started using my tail to bat it around my habitat. The crowd was cheering. I did jumps off of it into the pool. Then I ran up to the top of the slide and slid down it.

I knew exactly what my goal was. Just before I fell onto the beach ball, in mid-air, kicked out my feet at it. I landed on the ball and pressed it into the concrete. As it nearly hit the breaking point, I launched myself into the sky.

I batted my eyelashes at the crowd at the top of my jump before also corkscrewing into the water. That was my final trick. The crowd cheered at me and threw popcorn at me. Alice was not around, so I could enjoy it without thinking she would shut the popcorn down.

(P to Skipper) "Wow," I thought to myself as I watched Marlene perform. She was doing excellent. She was using her beach ball to do all kinds of tricks. She really impressed me when she used it and her slide to launch herself into the sky. I knew immediately that when she batted her eyelashes that she was doing that at me more than her crowd.

I was very impressed when during her drop from the sky that she corkscrewed into the water. She must have been practicing that for awhile. She was so much fun. I was so glad we were finally dating. And today was Valentine's Day. I knew exactly what my plan was.

(P to Marlene, after the zoo closed) I was thoroughly exhausted after that day of performing. I had barely finished learning the corkscrew the night before. It took a number of days, but I was glad I mastered it. But doing that entire trick really took a lot out of you. But I was nowhere near tired, since I knew Skipper would shortly be coming over for our date.

As I relaxed, Skipper popped up through the entrance from the sewer. Even though I knew he was coming, I still did my surprised yelp at that moment. He smiled at me doing that. "Hi Skipper!" I said happily. "Good evening Marlene," he said happily to me.

We gloriously kissed. Every time we kissed I loved it. I never wanted the moment to end. I hated that we had to eventually part for air. "You sure are excited," Skipper said to me after we regained air. "Why shouldn't I be? I'm with the Penguin I love," I said happily. We gloriously kissed again.

"So were you showing off for me with that Corkscrew, Skipper?" I questioned him. He chuckled and blushed. "I certainly was Marlene. Just like when I did that first Corkscrew years earlier, I was doing it for you. Did you show off for me in return?" he questioned me.

I giggled and blushed myself. "I certainly was. What gave it away? The beach ball tricks, the corkscrew, or when I batted my eyelashes?" I asked him. "All of it," Skipper said, making us laugh. "So what's your plan today?" I asked Skipper eagerly. He smirked. "Oh, you'll soon find out," he said to me.

He offered his flipper for me to hold. I gladly took it and walked outside with him. I loved holding Skipper's flipped in my paw. I loved that we were finally a couple. I didn't know what his plan was, but eagerly walked with him to where we were going.

(P to 3rd-person) Skipper led Marlene to one of the walls in the zoo. He gently let go of Marlene's paw and lifted up the part of the wall that led to the car. Marlene was giddy with what she saw. She was going on a drive with Skipper somewhere. She Marlene and Skipper eagerly both jumped into the car and started driving outside of the zoo.

"Where are we going Skipper?" Marlene asked, desperately wanting information. "Classified," Skipper said smirking. "Ooh, you and your hidden plans," she said to him. As they drove, Marlene realized the zoo had closed early. A lot earlier than usual. "Why was that the case?" she wondered. Little did she know that it was for her and Skipper. She also didn't know what was inside the trunk of the car. ****

But she did realize it was later in the afternoon. Skipper was desperately trying to get to his destination, one of the hidden beaches in New York that he had meticulously been searching for on his maps of the city. He knew Marlene would love what he had planned.

Skipper told Marlene to close her eyes so that she would not see where they were going, as they got closer to their destination. She did so, dying to know where they were headed.

After ten minutes, they had reached their destination. Skipper had parked the car for a perfect view of the sun setting over the New York skyline. "Open your eyes and come out of the car Marlene," Skipper said to her. Marlene removed her paws from her face, opened her eyes, and stepped out of the car. After blinking for a few seconds due to the light now hitting her eyes, she saw the view.

She was awestruck at what Skipper had planned for her. "What a beautiful view," she said happily. "It's nowhere near as beautiful as you," Skipper said to her. They kissed. "Marlene, I've got one more thing to add to this," he said to her.

"Oh?" she asked curiously. Skipper walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk. He put what was inside behind his back. Marlene was dying to know what Skipper had brought with them.

(P to Marlene) I loved this Valentine's Day. It was the first one I really had. And I was sharing it with Skipper! "What do you have behind your back Skipper?" I asked him. "Just a little something," he said to me. I giggled. "Come on, tell me," I said, dying to know.

"Just something I learned while hiding in the jungles of Mexico," he answered. ***** What had he learned in Mexico? He had never told me he had been there. This was new. "What did you learn while in Mexico?" I asked him eagerly. "Just how to play this," Skipper said nonchalantly while bringing the item from behind his back.

I gasped in pure surprise, joy, and love. It was a Spanish guitar! The Penguin I loved knew how to play the Spanish guitar! Skipper saw the delight on my face and immediately started to play. I was in heaven. Skipper had taken me out to this hidden beach to play the Spanish guitar for me during the sunset! It was so romantic.

I merely sat on the grass, watching Skipper perform. I was listening to every single note he played. This was so beautiful. If anyone doubted that I was in love with Skipper, they were now even more wrong.

(P to 3rd person) The two absolutely loved this day. They would remember it forever. Skipper played for Marlene for hours, never missing a single note. After 3 hours, Skipper finished playing the many songs he knew how to play.

Marlene calmly walked over to Skipper as he placed the guitar down next to him. The two were lost in each other's eyes. They were absolutely in love. The two then kissed full-on for 15 whole seconds until they were forced to breathe.

"Oh, Skipper, that was beautiful!" Marlene exclaimed happily. "I gather you liked it then," Skipper said happily to her. "I loved it! Almost as much as I love you!" Marlene exclaimed before they kissed again. They reluctantly got in the car to go home after they put the guitar away.

Marlene was still in shock and love. The love of her life, Skipper, knew how to play the Spanish guitar. If it were even possible, she was now in even more love with him than before. Skipper loved that Marlene loved what he had set up that day. His hard work had paid off for both of them.

Upon reaching the zoo, two shared another kiss before departing for the night. They drifted off to sleep, and dreamed of that date, wanting to experience it again. The bond between Skipper and Marlene was growing even stronger. Nothing could tear them apart.

(P to Marlene the next morning) "So what did Skipper have planned for you Marlene?" Becky asked me. We were gossiping again. I sighed longingly with the memory of yesterday. "It was so perfect. I didn't expect it at all," I said smiling. "So what did he have planned?" Stacey asked me after letting me relish in the memory of yesterday.

"You two know how I like the Spanish guitar right?" I asked them. They chuckled. "Everyone knows, cousin. Did he play it for you?" Becky asked me. "Oh, much more than that girls," I said happily.

"He took me in the car to a secluded beach. That's why the zoo closed early yesterday. He played for me just at the perfect moment of the sunset and continued for three whole hours," I said happily. "That's so sweet of him. You really do have the perfect boyfriend in him," Stacey said to me.

"I know. This is one of the highlights of my life. I was so sad and alone just at the very end of last year. Now I'm so happy, in love together with Skipper," I said. "Do you think you will get married someday?" Becky asked me.

"Oh, I definitely think so. When that happens, you two can be my bridesmaids!" I said happily to them. "Thank you for that upcoming honor cousin," both of the badgers said to me. "No problem. Now we just have to wait for that to happen," I said happily.

And that is a wrap on this chapter. Was it well worth the wait? I hope it was. Please review it! The next chapter will be released on St. Patrick's Day, which is March 17th! In the meantime, I've got several notes for you to check out.

* Referencing "Badger Pride" when Marlene, unknowingly and accidentally angered the badgers by using _badger_ in an, according to the two, derogatory way.

** Alice said that the same way she said it at the beginning of "Go Fish".

*** Referencing to "Crown Fools" when Skipper did the Corkscrew for the first time.

**** It was never shown if the Penguins have a trunk in their car, but I'm certain they do.

***** In "Littlefoot" while trying to help calm down Littlefoot to stop anymore damage she might do to the city, Skipper played the Spanish guitar, since it was Marlene underneath. When Private asked him where he learned to play the guitar, Skipper said he had learned it while hiding in the jungles of Mexico.


End file.
